Thanks Chris. Yes, I just read about the shelf life somewhere on this site. Sooo much terrific info about everything on here. Can't believe I didn't find this sooner. That's good to know about the date code. I take it those codes aren't in a format that tell you the actual date then? Should I go to manufacturers site maybe or call and see formula to convert to a real date? It certainly wouldn't do any good to have a 12% product that has sat on the shelf for a year. And I certainly don't mind paying more to know that it's fresh stuff. It's a shame that when it does go on a great sale that you can't really stock up though. Plus it sounds like the temps outside can reduce the efficacy as well. So might only want to get as much as I feel I can safely store inside somewhere. With three dogs that might be a challenge. I guess up on a shelf for sure. Hypothetically if I do end up with some that doesn't get used quickly enough, can I then use it for general cleaning or laundry, etc? Not sure if you can answer that or not but was just curious so it doesn't get wasted.
Pool won't hold chlorine/visual etching starting
- Thread starter katwar
- Start date
it's logarithmic, so 12.5 degrades down to 10% faster than 10% will go to 8.25, sort of thing. So it will still work, you just can't dose properly because you won't really know how strong it is, and if you paid more for it, you are in the end paying more for the same amount of active chlorine. If it's less than a bottle of 8.25 though, you will still come out ahead even if it has degraded.
the date code is printed on each bottle or box. It tells you when the bleach was, um, created? so if it said something like "AB15073" that would be the 73rd day of the year 2015. But the formatting is not industry standardized.
the date code is printed on each bottle or box. It tells you when the bleach was, um, created? so if it said something like "AB15073" that would be the 73rd day of the year 2015. But the formatting is not industry standardized.
Chris, I just found another thread on here that discusses the manufacturers date on liquid chlorine. Apparently they use a "Julian date". Not something easily converted in your head. There are online calculators that will do the calculations for you. The gal also said that retail stores that carry liquid chlorine typically put the newest stuff in the back, like milk at a grocery store. So you can rummage through the lot and try to find the freshest stuff.....LOL. Here's a link to a sample online converter:
Online Conversion - Julian Date Converter
For Kem-tech liquid chlorine, which is Lowes and Home Depot's stuff, here's the conversion:
The first two numbers are the year (14 or 15), the next three numbers are the day of the year (365 = Dec 31st and 014 - Jan 14, etc)
Online Conversion - Julian Date Converter
For Kem-tech liquid chlorine, which is Lowes and Home Depot's stuff, here's the conversion:
The first two numbers are the year (14 or 15), the next three numbers are the day of the year (365 = Dec 31st and 014 - Jan 14, etc)
Before I switched to SWG I used to buy concentrated liquid chlorine from contractor supply store (Sun Brite Supply In Maryland, Pressure Washers, Supplies Repairs). They have it in a tank and you have to provide your own container. I used 6 gallon container similar to this: Coleman 5-Gallon Water Carrier, Blue - Walmart.com and you can spray paint it in hazard-orange or something.
It is HEAVY when filled.
The chlorine they sell is 12% so it goes a long way.
It is HEAVY when filled.
The chlorine they sell is 12% so it goes a long way.
97% to 99% of the chlorine in the pool is bound to Cyanuric Acid (CYA) and essentially inactive. It does not kill algae or pathogens. It's basically chlorine held in reserve and released as the active chlorine that is unbound to CYA gets used up. So the active chlorine level is proportional to the FC/CYA ratio. Trichlor pucks are a chemical combination of chlorine and CYA where for every 10 ppm FC added by Trichlor it also increases CYA by 6 ppm. The FC gets used up but the CYA remains behind so it builds up. You were maintaining your FC level, but the CYA level kept climbing so the FC/CYA ratio drops which means the active chlorine level that prevents algae growth dropped.
So long as the FC/CYA level was high enough to kill algae faster than it could grow, you didn't notice any problems, but once that ratio got too low (because the CYA got too high at a fixed FC level) then the increased algae growth started to consume chlorine faster. If the algae growth rate is slow, then people notice this as a mysterious increase in chlorine demand and they add more tablets faster to try and keep up. In your case, your algae growth rate may be faster so instead the FC level started to drop, the algae grew even faster, and then it all falls apart quickly as the algae use up all the chlorine in the pool and grow to their heart's content. It takes algae about 3 to 8 hours to double in population under ideal conditions so it really took several days for this to occur, but algae aren't always visible until there is enough of them to clump into visible pieces. Even using the conservative 8 hour doubling time, that means over 24 hours the algae population could have doubled three times so been 8 times as much algae so certainly the day before you might not have noticed much chlorine loss nor visible algae and then the next day seemingly out of nowhere you've got no chorine and have visible algae.
The Taylor book and the pool industry in general do not properly understand the chlorine/CYA relationship. So whenever you see a quote for an FC range independent of CYA level, it means absolutely nothing (i.e. it just demonstrates ignorance). FC is a measure of the chlorine reserve or capacity, not it's active strength in the pool. CYA doesn't just protect chlorine from degradation from sunlight, but also significantly moderates chlorine's strength. What is shown in the Pool School Chlorine / CYA Chart are constant levels of active chlorine (hypochlorous acid) for various CYA levels and types of usage (i.e. minimum FC to prevent algae growth vs. killing algae quickly in a SLAM). Since algae are much harder to kill than most pathogens, having enough chlorine to prevent algae growth also disinfects quickly enough to make the pools safe from bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens.
The reason for the high minimum chlorine level of 9 ppm is because the CYA level is 110 ppm. The minimum FC/CYA ratio is roughly 7.5% and 7.5% of 110 ppm CYA is 8.25 so rounded up is 9 ppm FC. However, the active chlorine level is the same as in a pool with 3 ppm FC and 40 ppm CYA. The rate of killing algae and pathogens and the rate of oxidizing swimsuits, skin, and hair is the same in both situations. Again, FC means absolutely nothing as a number on its own except to tell you if you have enough chlorine to not run out (i.e. you have enough in reserve). It does not tell you the strength of the chlorine in the pool. Technically, the active chlorine level at the minimum FC level (FC/CYA ratio of 7.5%) is the same as only 0.06 ppm FC with no CYA. Fortunately it takes a very low level of active chlorine to kill pathogens and prevent algae.
So you can imagine what it must be like to swim in a pool with even 1 ppm FC but no CYA in it. Many commercial/public pools, especially indoors, are like this and are one reason they are more unpleasant to use. Swimsuits, skin, and hair get oxidized well over 10 times faster in such pools. CYA is a good thing to have, but like much in life it must be in moderation.
ChemGeek, thank you for this wonderful explanation. I'm still not so sure this is algae that I'm seeing right now. I've used a wire brush on several different areas and it doesn't budge. It may only appear yellow due to light reflection....who knows. I've had yellow algae before and it does brush right off quite easily. This is too regular of a pattern and I truly believe it's etching or some sort. I would think that my water would have at least got a bit cloud or merky before the chemistry could get to the point of causing etching. I just don't know how severely off the chemistry has to be before etching starts to occur. I plan on draining 60% of my pool next week when I am able to get out and get some liquid chlorine. I guess I will just test the water after the fill and go from there to determine how much liquid chlorine to put in initially. Will use the math calculator on here to enter my results and see how much I need to add. I'm excited about doing away with my pucks and going straight to liquid. But will periodically need to use pucks when I am traveling for work.
I still need to find info on whether I will ever need to use shock once I start using liquid chlorine. I've got a couple more articles to read still and hopefully it will be in there. Thanks so much for your very thorough and helpful reply.
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ChemGeek, thank you for this wonderful explanation. I'm still not so sure this is algae that I'm seeing right now. I've used a wire brush on several different areas and it doesn't budge. It may only appear yellow due to light reflection....who knows. I've had yellow algae before and it does brush right off quite easily. This is too regular of a pattern and I truly believe it's etching or some sort. I would think that my water would have at least got a bit cloud or murky before the chemistry could get to the point of causing etching. I just don't know how severely off the chemistry has to be before etching starts to occur. I plan on draining 60% of my pool next week when I am able to get out and get some liquid chlorine. I guess I will just test the water after the fill and go from there to determine how much liquid chlorine to put in initially. Will use the math calculator on here to enter my results and see how much I need to add. I'm excited about doing away with my pucks and going straight to liquid. But will periodically need to use pucks when I am traveling for work.
I still need to find info on whether I will ever need to use shock once I start using liquid chlorine. I've got a couple more articles to read still and hopefully it will be in there. Thanks so much for your very thorough and helpful reply.
I still need to find info on whether I will ever need to use shock once I start using liquid chlorine. I've got a couple more articles to read still and hopefully it will be in there. Thanks so much for your very thorough and helpful reply.
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ChemGeek, thank you for this wonderful explanation. I'm still not so sure this is algae that I'm seeing right now. I've used a wire brush on several different areas and it doesn't budge. It may only appear yellow due to light reflection....who knows. I've had yellow algae before and it does brush right off quite easily. This is too regular of a pattern and I truly believe it's etching or some sort. I would think that my water would have at least got a bit cloud or murky before the chemistry could get to the point of causing etching. I just don't know how severely off the chemistry has to be before etching starts to occur. I plan on draining 60% of my pool next week when I am able to get out and get some liquid chlorine. I guess I will just test the water after the fill and go from there to determine how much liquid chlorine to put in initially. Will use the math calculator on here to enter my results and see how much I need to add. I'm excited about doing away with my pucks and going straight to liquid. But will periodically need to use pucks when I am traveling for work.
I still need to find info on whether I will ever need to use shock once I start using liquid chlorine. I've got a couple more articles to read still and hopefully it will be in there. Thanks so much for your very thorough and helpful reply.
to add a point, yes the initial FC target is higher. But as the cya level gets higher, the loss rate of the FC decreases. So your day to day maintenance dose should be slightly less than a person with say 20 CYA would need to stay at his target. But up over 80-90 cya, it would take an excessive amount of liquid chlorine to perform a shock/slam if that became necessary (which it shouldn't! if you are maintaining above the minimum).
Once you convert to TFP, you should never have to shock, you always maintain the correct levell of FC in relation to your CYA and all should be good. Folks here on the site have gone years without "shocking" their pool.
As Chem Geek pointed out, there is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to recommended chlorine levels in a pool. Just remember, you can't mix/match advice from different sources as that is a recipe for disaster.
As to,my high CYA, there are methods to test higher, but they induce higher error rates in the formula that many times is not worth the trouble.
As Chem Geek pointed out, there is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to recommended chlorine levels in a pool. Just remember, you can't mix/match advice from different sources as that is a recipe for disaster.
As to,my high CYA, there are methods to test higher, but they induce higher error rates in the formula that many times is not worth the trouble.
Sorry I didn't pick up on the fact that this wasn't algae. So yellow spots on plaster that won't rub off sounds like it might be some type of metal stain, possibly iron (could be copper, but let's hope not). This would happen more if the pH rose.
I don't think your low CSI is the cause since it would normally take a much lower CSI and in particular a low pH to have the plaster degrade in a way that was this noticeable this quickly. Nevertheless, it is most important to have the water saturated with calcium carbonate (i.e. CSI of zero or a little higher) for new plaster.
If you get some ascorbic acid (crushed Vitamin C) and put it over one of these spots and it disappears, then it may be iron. If that doesn't have it fade, you can try putting a Trichlor puck on it (not too long though) and see if it fades. If it does, then it may be organic (though I think that's doubtful). Lastly, if you get some citric acid and put it over the spot and it fades (but ascorbic acid did not have it fade much), then it may be copper. I'm betting it's iron though.
Chem Geek, you know how walls that are textured with what is called a popcorn texture have little tiny points kind of sticking outward throughout the surface of the wall? Think of my pool wall and floor as a textured wall and the yellow I am seeing is on every single point sticking out. It's very consistently distributed throughout. It's not just an area here and an area there. The yellow dots are soooo incredibly tiny but when you look at a large surface area you can really see the overall yellow. It's wild. I don't think trying to take a photo of it would turn out too well.
If it is iron, organic or copper, would it be distributed as I described? If so, then I will definitely try your suggestions. When you say organic, are you referring to something like leaves? I do actually have a few yellow spots that I can't get out with a wire brush that are larger, more of a rust color, but there is only 3 or so of them. Maybe the size of a quarter. Was going to try and get a pumice stone and see if that might work. I have only been in my pool one time in the year I've lived here....LOL. And that was to fish out a tiny flathead screwdriver I use to try and get the gunk out of the regulator valve on my Kreepy Krauly.
I do have some kind of mineral stain I believe on the tiles around the upper walls where it meets the pool decking. It was there when I bought the house. It's a white scale that won't even budge with a pumice stone. Tried several Kem-Tech products to no avail. Doesn't really bother me per se, but I sure wish I could get the tiles shiny and clean again. I tried keeping the water level up almost to the top during all of the treatments and then just for a month or so to see if the chlorine might eventually help remove some of it, but nothing has phased it so far.
Thanks so much for this information. I really appreciate it.
If it is iron, organic or copper, would it be distributed as I described? If so, then I will definitely try your suggestions. When you say organic, are you referring to something like leaves? I do actually have a few yellow spots that I can't get out with a wire brush that are larger, more of a rust color, but there is only 3 or so of them. Maybe the size of a quarter. Was going to try and get a pumice stone and see if that might work. I have only been in my pool one time in the year I've lived here....LOL. And that was to fish out a tiny flathead screwdriver I use to try and get the gunk out of the regulator valve on my Kreepy Krauly.
I do have some kind of mineral stain I believe on the tiles around the upper walls where it meets the pool decking. It was there when I bought the house. It's a white scale that won't even budge with a pumice stone. Tried several Kem-Tech products to no avail. Doesn't really bother me per se, but I sure wish I could get the tiles shiny and clean again. I tried keeping the water level up almost to the top during all of the treatments and then just for a month or so to see if the chlorine might eventually help remove some of it, but nothing has phased it so far.
Thanks so much for this information. I really appreciate it.
If this was metal stain related, then raising the pH would generally make it worse while lowering it would make it better, but the ascorbic acid test for iron is pretty definitive and clear.
As for whether stains would tend to go on the points of a popcorn texture plaster surface, that is certainly possible because the points are in the water with the concentration of metal while the valleys in between don't get as much circulation so might be limited more by very slow diffusion. Just a guess, though.
As for whether stains would tend to go on the points of a popcorn texture plaster surface, that is certainly possible because the points are in the water with the concentration of metal while the valleys in between don't get as much circulation so might be limited more by very slow diffusion. Just a guess, though.
Here's an update. Had to pay the guy who put my equipment in for a service call and he brought his sump pump over and set it up and left it for my pool drain. Apparently my pool isn't plumbed to actually drain water.....LOL. Former owner says it is, pool equipment guy says it isn't. I have more details about that if anyone would love the challenge of determining if it is capable of draining from the drain. Anyway, finally got the refill started yesterday and it just hit the full mark a couple of hours ago. The pool calculator indicated I needed to do a 60% drain to get my CYA levels down. I did about a 75% drain just to be sure. Well, you can imagine my surprise when I tested my CYA level and discovered it was indeed down from the 100+ reading I had previously, but it was only down to 60. I am sooo bummed that after all of these days of draining and filling that all I got it down to was 60. Soooo, I have a question that I'm hoping the answer will make me feel better about. Once a pool has been refilled, do I need to wait a certain amount of time for the old water and fresh water to "blend" or "mix" before I test the levels to get an accurate reading? Or can I just do it as soon as I turn the water off? Second question, I will be making the transition from pucks to liquid bleach now. I haven't entered my new readings into the pool calculator yet since I was waiting to hear if any of you think I need to wait awhile before testing the levels. But I read on here somewhere that my target chlorine level should be a lot higher with liquid than it was with pucks. My Taylor K-2006 test kit manual shows the ideal chlorine level as 2.0 to 4.0 but someone said you want it as high as 9.0 when using liquid bleach. Is that correct??? And just curious what the reasoning is behind needing to keep your chlorine level so high when using liquid bleach. And for everyone who tried to help me determine what the zillion tiny little yellow dots were throughout my pool.....when I drained the water, it was just white plaster....LOL. However, my pool guy said when you have plain old white plaster that it's not going to look brand new for very long. There was "some" signs of etching but he said for one year old my plaster actually looked incredibly well. So I can only guess that all of the yellow was just some weird something or other that went out with the water. I know it was real because several other people have seen it (grin).
Okay, just did the pool math calculator thing based on current levels after filling pool back up. It says I need to add 210 oz of 8.25 percent bleach and drain 33% of my pool water. So it sounds like I should have just emptied the entire pool to begin with....LOL. I honestly can't do 33% again after doing 70% and refilling for past two days. That's just crazy. Can I maybe just do a few drains down to bottom of skimmer level once or twice a week for next few weeks to try and get it from 60 down to 40?
Okay, just did the pool math calculator thing based on current levels after filling pool back up. It says I need to add 210 oz of 8.25 percent bleach and drain 33% of my pool water. So it sounds like I should have just emptied the entire pool to begin with....LOL. I honestly can't do 33% again after doing 70% and refilling for past two days. That's just crazy. Can I maybe just do a few drains down to bottom of skimmer level once or twice a week for next few weeks to try and get it from 60 down to 40?
If you don't have to SLAM 60 is a number you can live with. Even a SLAM at 60 is not out of this world li,e 100+ where you were.
Let the pump run for a hour or so and is should be mixed well enough for testing purposes.
Let the pump run for a hour or so and is should be mixed well enough for testing purposes.
Tim, thanks for that info. I did just retest about 30 minutes ago. Not a whole changed with the exception that my calcium hardiness went from 190 down to 170, kind of weird. You said "if you don't have to SLAM"....I was under the impression that after a refill I should SLAM. Should I not? I was actually going to put in the 210 oz that was recommended and assumed those were SLAM numbers. And maybe this is where I really need some help. First off, I've never done a drain and refill (since only owned home with pool for a year now) and then made the transition from pucks to liquid on top of that. So I"m not honestly sure what I need to do, which is why I used the calculator. I read about adding the liquid and it said to pour it directly in front of the outlets. I have four of them so I took my first gallon and just walked around the pool and trickled a little in front of one and then moved on to the next one. Took about 10 minutes to pour the first gallon in. Haven't started the second gallon yet because I wanted to come in and see if I had any messages that would tell me to do something differently. Is there a rule of thumb on how much liquid to add over what period of time? And do I need to pour it super close to the jet stream of the outlet or just kind of in front of it? Only one of my four return lines is in the deep end and it's got a bench seat a few inches below it. And the SLAM info said you need to SLAM two times in a row I believe. At what point do I begin the second SLAM and do I just repeat the same amount of bleach as the first SLAM? It didn't really specify much about the repeat SLAM.
Oh, and how long should I run my pump after I add the second gallon? Should I just leave it on all night tonight?
Okay, that definitely wasn't a SLAM....LOL. This morning my chlorine was 6.5, which is great but definitely not a SLAM number. Just retested this afternoon and chlorine is already down to 2.0. So I did the pool math again and just added another 240 oz of bleach. I hope the amount of chlorine required each day keeps going down. Calcium Hardiness right after pool fill was 170 and now this afternoon it's at 200. Still low. TA right after fill late yesterday was 100 and today it's 110. I haven't done anything other than add the liquid bleach. My CYA was 60 right after pool fill and this afternoon it's already up to 65. And I have no pucks in my inline chlorinator and it's turn to the off position.
What's really weird about my CYA is that I bought my K-2006 test kit right after I purchased the home. Two weeks after they did the new plaster I tested the CYA for the first time and it was over 100 at that time. I'm not sure why it would be going up now since no longer using pucks. BUT, the amount of light outside was significantly different between the two tests so I'm assuming that could play a big part in being able to see the black dot at the bottom of the CYA vial.
Oh, and how long should I run my pump after I add the second gallon? Should I just leave it on all night tonight?
Okay, that definitely wasn't a SLAM....LOL. This morning my chlorine was 6.5, which is great but definitely not a SLAM number. Just retested this afternoon and chlorine is already down to 2.0. So I did the pool math again and just added another 240 oz of bleach. I hope the amount of chlorine required each day keeps going down. Calcium Hardiness right after pool fill was 170 and now this afternoon it's at 200. Still low. TA right after fill late yesterday was 100 and today it's 110. I haven't done anything other than add the liquid bleach. My CYA was 60 right after pool fill and this afternoon it's already up to 65. And I have no pucks in my inline chlorinator and it's turn to the off position.
What's really weird about my CYA is that I bought my K-2006 test kit right after I purchased the home. Two weeks after they did the new plaster I tested the CYA for the first time and it was over 100 at that time. I'm not sure why it would be going up now since no longer using pucks. BUT, the amount of light outside was significantly different between the two tests so I'm assuming that could play a big part in being able to see the black dot at the bottom of the CYA vial.
This will be my third night since refilling the pool that I have had to add enormous amounts of liquid bleach. Tonight I have to add 157 oz. Last night I had to add 121 oz (of 8.25%). This morning at 10 a.m. my chlorine level was 3.5. At 4 pm this afternoon it was down to 1.5. Is there a point after a drain and refill and when transitioning from pucks to liquid that you don't have to add at least a gallon every night? LOL. I must admit I got spoiled only having to add pucks to my inline chlorinator twice a month and shocking maybe once a month. And yes, my CYA levels were through the roof. And I don't mind having to make a routine out of adding chlorine to my pool each and every single evening, but if it's going to take over a gallon every night then I might need to rethink this. I had asked Tim if I needed to actually try and shock the pool after the refill but haven't heard back yet. I just kind of feel like maybe I'm doing something wrong for it to need so much chlorine every night. And of course I'm sure the high UV levels are really zapping it. But I'm in Houston and the UV will ALWAYS be zapping it.
I am interested to hear what the experts have to say about the refill/bleach adding cycle.
I'd also like to chime in and say that I have a busy life with kids and work and I love the security of my salt water chlorine generator.
TFP is definitely the way to go to avoid problems in the future. It just takes a bit to get all dialed in. So here's a virtual hug from a fellow Texas girl whose also had a mom on hospice. Praying you'll get it figured out soon.
[emoji176] Lisa P.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'd also like to chime in and say that I have a busy life with kids and work and I love the security of my salt water chlorine generator.
TFP is definitely the way to go to avoid problems in the future. It just takes a bit to get all dialed in. So here's a virtual hug from a fellow Texas girl whose also had a mom on hospice. Praying you'll get it figured out soon.
[emoji176] Lisa P.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Awww, thank you so much Lisa. I'm hoping to get it all dialed in soon. Would have been lost without the wonderful folks in this forum.
Hi Kat,First things first...
:arrow: Regarding your current chlorine demand... I don't think anyone caught this from your very first post in this thread:
Yellow stuff is Sodium Bromide ?
I'm almost sure that's why your pool is eating chlorine like it is!
Maybe a mod can see if ChemGeek can revisit this thread...
I would hold off doing anything else except adding bleach, like you have been, until Richard can advise you further... Adding the Bromide definitely complicates things.
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As far as your CYA measurement goes... You need to test in the same way every time... It is the test that is the most problematic for most people because there isn't a color change threshold like we are used to. And it is so dependent on viewing conditions.
Look at this link:Why test CYA? to see how the test looks when viewed from above. Is that helpful?
Some tips I've learned:
- you should test in the daylight, with approximately the same intensity of bright sunlight every time.
- Stand with your back to the sun, and let your body shade the tube. But do not stand in the shade of a tree, etc. or on the porch.
- Hold tube at waist level so you can look directly into the tube.
- Add the test mixture a few drops at a time, until the dot begins to "fade" then slow to one drop at a time until finally the dot is no longer visible .
- If you're unsure when the dot disappears, pour the solution from the tube back into the test bottle and start over. You can do this as many times as you need to. (But don't obsess, )
- when you're satisfied that you're done,raise the tube up to eye level to view the scale on the side, and read the measurement.
- Round up to the next higher value... The scale is logarithmic, so midway between say, 50 & 60 is not 55. Just call it 60. Better safe than sorry, as they say.
For the CYA test, the key is consistency. It must be done under the same conditions each time in order to have reliable results. Even then, there's a pretty wide margin of error, I think it's +/- 20 or 30ppm...(probably to account for all the different ways people test).
So even if you try your best to do the test the same every single time, it's possible to have results that seem a little " off"... When actually there's nothing "wrong" at all.
That's where getting to know your pool is beneficial--- for example, you might think your CYA has gone down 10 ppm but your chlorine is holding, same as always, and all your other chemistry is fine. You decide to just watch and wait, and maintain everything just as you normally do, as if nothing has changed... Sure enough, a few weeks later, when you check the CYA again, your level has "magically" returned to the original number. Good thing you didn't panic and add more, or let your FC drop in response to one oddball reading.
I've found that it is very impoortant to keep good records, and practice patience... Don't make changes to CYA unless there is other evidence that backs up the unusual result. Otherwise, you will end up with wild test results, and never be able to keep up.
(btw: CYA reagent is pretty inexpensive on Amazon... I got a 16 oz bottle for under $10... And kept in a cool, dark place, it won't go bad for several years at least... Get some before you run out. And you may need more FAS-DPD reagent* while you're at it
Both are also available from tftestkits.net, which is run by Dave S., the owner of troublefreepools.com)Good luck.
A quick note for maintaining FC while away for days at a time - SWG is obviously a good option that would eliminate the use of pucks. Another thing to consider is a chemical addition pump to add liquid. Check out the Equipment section of the forums under Chemical Automation
In a previous post, you said "My Taylor K-2006 test kit manual shows the ideal chlorine level as 2.0 to 4.0 but someone said you want it as high as 9.0 when using liquid bleach." As has been mentioned, the Taylor recommendation is inadequate because it does not consider CYA level. To say you should always keep the FC at X is not accurate. To tell the complete story, one must say, for CYA of X, maintain FC at Y. More CYA means higher FC levels are required to maintain enough active chlorine to do the job. Refer to the CYA/Chlorine table for proper target and shock levels of FC based on your CYA level. And the target FC level is not "for liquid." It is a function of the CYA level, not a function of the source of chlorine. So whether you are using liquid or pucks, the target is the same. You just have to remember that if you are using pucks, you are adding CYA while you are adding FC, meaning your needed level of FC will continue to increase over time unless you are diluting by draining and refilling or through rain or some other means.
As far as having drained per PoolMath and still being high on CYA, remember that you thought you were at 110 but may have been higher since the test is inaccurate beyond 100.
Finally, trust me and stick with it. When I first got on TFP and started following the recommendations earlier this year, I was skeptical also. While the amounts of bleach you are adding may seem excessive, they are not. The first SLAM I did took around 50 gallons over a week! But if you stick with it, you will get the results you want - a clear sparkling trouble-free pool at minimal cost.
In a previous post, you said "My Taylor K-2006 test kit manual shows the ideal chlorine level as 2.0 to 4.0 but someone said you want it as high as 9.0 when using liquid bleach." As has been mentioned, the Taylor recommendation is inadequate because it does not consider CYA level. To say you should always keep the FC at X is not accurate. To tell the complete story, one must say, for CYA of X, maintain FC at Y. More CYA means higher FC levels are required to maintain enough active chlorine to do the job. Refer to the CYA/Chlorine table for proper target and shock levels of FC based on your CYA level. And the target FC level is not "for liquid." It is a function of the CYA level, not a function of the source of chlorine. So whether you are using liquid or pucks, the target is the same. You just have to remember that if you are using pucks, you are adding CYA while you are adding FC, meaning your needed level of FC will continue to increase over time unless you are diluting by draining and refilling or through rain or some other means.
As far as having drained per PoolMath and still being high on CYA, remember that you thought you were at 110 but may have been higher since the test is inaccurate beyond 100.
Finally, trust me and stick with it. When I first got on TFP and started following the recommendations earlier this year, I was skeptical also. While the amounts of bleach you are adding may seem excessive, they are not. The first SLAM I did took around 50 gallons over a week! But if you stick with it, you will get the results you want - a clear sparkling trouble-free pool at minimal cost.